Thursday, 9 July 2015

June 19, 2015- Lisbon, Portugal

Arrive in Lisbon at 9:00 AM, Explore Lisbon by Foot. Explore Lisbon by Tram, Explore Lisbon by Tuk-tuk, Looking in a few stores, Sample local food, Return to cruise ship for 6 pm departure, Dinner at dining room at 9:15 PM

The time when backwards by one hour early this morning. We had room service for breakfast and left the ship at 10:00 AM to see Lisbon. We had difficulty finding the tourist information office, so we stopped at a cafe. April took her slender Portuguese out and ordered a custard croissant and a custard tart, which is a local specialty. Eventually, a friendly police officer pointed us the in the right direction. We obtained a map at tourist information and on the suggestion of the woman there, we bought a day pass for the metro so we could ride the old fashioned street car tram to tour some of the seven hills that Lisbon is built upon.

First we walked up one hill looking for the #28 Tram stop, and then stopped for lunch at a little restaurant/gift shop. The mozzarella sandwich we shared and the tuna and sardine salad weren’t that great, but at least we had protein from the fish and beans (something that is severely lacking on the carb heavy Costa).

We caught the tram down the hill, ventured up other hills all the way to the end of the line where we had a cool drink and then proceeded to the other end of the line on the other end of the city, where we had a cool drink and Magnum ice cream bars. Instead of waiting and standing all the way back to the harbour on the busy tram packed with tourists, we opted for a tuk-tuk ride back to the main square in the harbour. The friendly chap gave us a little tour of Lisbon. It was a fun experience.

We then had an ice cream and a custard tart at a café that had Wi-Fi and April posted her week’s worth of haiku. We looked around in some of the stores and found that most things were from China or the rest of Europe.

In the evening before dinner, we turned on the TV and saw that there was a movie about Grace Kelly playing. Way to add insult into injury, Costa Cruises. That extra salt in our wounds was especially painful after the cancellation of our Monaco excursion by Costa.

Dinner was at 9:15 PM. As we walked out into our hallway, we smelled cigarette smoke again very strongly. It was clear that people were smoking in their cabins even though this was forbidden (except for on private balconies and on certain designated public ones). It is not a surprise though because even the safety announcement during the abandon ship drill advised people to do things to minimize the risk of fire like not smoking in bed. Why would you be doing that if you're not allowed to smoke in your cabin?

April was feeling really unwell again.

9.95 km walked today.

There's gorgeous architecture all over Lisbon, looking up, down, and side to side.

There's narrow winding streets leading up the seven hills that Lisbon is built on.

Trams are a great way to explore Lisbon.

Lisbon showed grandeur and decay.

Gorgeous tiles all over certain buildings in Lisbon reminded us of Morocco.

The hillsides are packed with buildings and very colourful.

Raspberry Magnum Ice Cream Bar. Don't have those in Canada . . .

There was a giant rooster in one of the squares in Lisbon.

We loved this street leading towards the harbour with its tiled buildings, pillared building, and plain buildings. Such a mix of styles.

We love all the lions in Europe. We should put lions on buildings in Canada more.

The main square by the harbour is filled with beautiful buildings and that arch.